Romantic Winchester City Elopement in Pink Inspiration

This gorgeous city elopement styled shoot in Winchester is full of amazing ideas and inspo for real couples! The cosy meal for two beautifully set up in the pub is modern and casual without losing the specialness of a wedding day through the styling and beautiful cake. The pink dress and suit combo looks so magical with the bride and groom running around the city centre together! Shoot organiser Katherine, of Katherine and her Camera, tells us all about the inspiration. Scroll down to the see the gorgeous video too, who said you don't need a videographer if you're eloping?!

Theme

We chose a dusky pink colour scheme for this shoot, soft and warm without being overly feminine – as our groom model showed, absolutely rocking his pink suit! Our vision for this shoot was to create an intimate and romantic run-away city elopement. Realism, authenticity and rawness, a loved-up runaway couple in a cosy pub with their 2 dogs and without a care in the world. Combining unique and traditional.

Inspiration

Elopements can be small and minimal but still beautiful and reflect the couple's love for each other. You don't need to go somewhere with epic mountain scenery - you can get some amazing, romantic photographs wherever you get married, even your local city centre!

There are elements of an elopement you can capture which aren't part of a traditional wedding, such as getting ready together in the morning. A great way to capture the intimate connection between a couple and the anticipation of their day. Just because it is the two of you doesn't mean you don't want your whole day captured. Looking back on the photos and video of your elopement in years to come is going to be just as special, arguably more so if you want to share your experience with your friends and family. You can still have your intimate getting ready photos in the morning – sharing that time together makes it all the more meaningful. Covering your ceremony almost goes without saying, but don't stop there! Make sure you have a record of all the little details you planned, a celebration of your relationship, and you will have plenty of time to get some amazing photos of the two of you enjoying your day in your chosen location.

Styling

We set up a snug sweetheart table in a Winchester pub. Warm toned table runners and plenty of candlesticks and tealights adorned the table for that cosy, romantic look. Minimal but effective.

Rachel from Love by Design Weddings also beautifully styled a separate cake table to really make it a centrepiece and show it off. Deep brown fabric and a rattan place mat complemented the tones of the dried flowers, and the two candlesticks matched the sweetheart table design.

And, yes you should definitely still have cake even if it's just two of you! Having an intimate wedding doesn't mean you should miss out on cake – they come in all sizes so you can get one that's just right for the two of you. This simple yet stunning single tier cake by Suzy Blake Cake Atelier was decorated with gorgeous dried flowers to match the soft, whimsical tone of the day.

Stationery

In lieu of invitations, we used bespoke vow books by stationery designer Kathryn Deeley with a matching sign announcing the elopement, with the motto

'Nothing fancy, just love.

We'll party later...'

This reflects the growing trend we've seen throughout 2020 and into 2021 for the 'sequel wedding' where couples are looking to tie the knot in a small and intimate way, with plans for a bigger celebration once it is safe to do so.

Location

The pub was also the location for the vow and ring exchange, with a sparkly fairy light backdrop (who doesn't love fairy lights?!) The rose gold wedding bands were supplied by the Molten Wedding Ring Company, with a beautiful texture which makes them really unique. Our couple's pups were there to help them celebrate wearing wedding bandanas by the talented Giddings Gifts.

Then we went exploring around Winchester city centre - it was all about the couple and sharing their love, and a sense of playful adventure. Dancing to buskers in the street, visiting local landmarks and getting cosy in pretty old backstreets; there are a wealth of locations to play with in city centres.

Bridalwear

You don't need to go minimal with your wedding outfits for a city centre elopement - our couple absolutely rocked their pink wedding attire! Our groom wore a dusky pink suit with a plain white shirt. Our bride floated around Winchester in a bespoke outfit by Kimberley Stone - a full marshmallow-pink tulle skirt with a sequin topper – striking but delicate at the same time.

Flowers

The bouquet and buttonhole, provided by The Blooming Workshop, combined dried flowers and cream roses for a wonderful combination of texture and elegance. During the ring exchange our bride wore a standout pink dried flower crown by the amazing Folkey Doky with loose, flowing curls and soft, earthy makeup. To finish her look, she wore rose gold jewellery by designer Niza Huang. The modern design suited our stylish eloping couple perfectly and the amazing texture complemented the wedding bands to pull the little details together.

Suppliers

Laura of Spiral Events and I chose suppliers who we have worked with before and trusted to bring our vision to reality. We were thrilled with how everyone worked with our moodboard inspiration and pulled together this stunning shoot. I hope it shows other couples what can be done with even a minimal plan for the day. It's all about crafting a day you love and having fun!